Worried About Losing DACA?

Rumors have been circulating for some time now that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program initiated by President Obama will soon come to an end. Today those rumors gained more traction with reports that President Trump and his administration have reached a decision. According to news sources, they will be terminating the program and allowing all current holders of employment authorization under DACA to finish out the validity period on their card.

An official decision has not actually been reached, according to White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders. I expect it will happen soon, though.

It was only a matter of time before DACA would be terminated, either by the current administration or the courts. DACA's later-in-time sister program, DAPA (Deferred Action for Parents of Americans), was stopped by the courts from taking effect last year because it was an executive act that granted employment authorization, something which must be granted by congress, not the President. Before the fight could continue in the court system, DAPA was rescinded by President Trump, which was a warning sign for DACA holders.

Even though a decision on DACA has not yet been officially reached by President Trump, DACA holders who have not yet explored other avenues for legal status should act immediately. The re-introduced DREAM Act this year by Senators Durbin and South Carolina's-own Lindsey Graham would go a long way to helping certain DACA recipients, but it is also a long way from becoming law.

In the last few months I have had several people come to me to initiate the green card application process who were married to U.S. citizens and were also DACA holders. These people have been eligible to obtain a green card, but the costly process has prevented them from following through.

The imminent termination of DACA has caused me to significantly reduce my legal fees and offer more favorable payment plans for people who will be losing DACA or the chance at getting DACA, if they qualify for some other immigration benefit. I cannot change the USCIS fees, but I am hoping to provide some help to these individuals.

If you or someone you know has DACA, please have them contact my office for a free evaluation of any legal options they may have, and significantly reduced legal fees. (843) 804-4844, hello@occam-legal.com, or complete the form at the bottom of this page to request a call.

I will return with a new article soon addressing some other updates in U.S. immigration policy.

About a month ago I was contacted by a reporter at the Post & Courier, the largest newspaper in Charleston, SC. The reporter was looking into rumors that ICE was ramping up enforcement of immigration laws, detaining individuals that are in the United States illegally (more about how one is in the U.S. illegally in another post).

I spent about 45 minutes on the phone with the reporter and eventually the story was published here. My quote in the article was very short, maybe because the substance of my conversation was that I didn't believe that enforcement was abnormally increasing.

During our conversation I told the reporter that ICE enforcement has generally been a roller coaster, meaning sometimes enforcement is high, while sometimes you don't hear much about detentions. It was only now that the media was picking up on it, in light of President Trump's administration's promise to deal with immigration. My thought is that, like any other federal agency, things tend to happen quickly when budgets are allocated, but as the money starts to diminish, so do the capabilities of the agency. Whether or not that is true is up for debate. Regardless, I thought that ICE was just doing what they usually do - pick up the "high priority" offenders, those who commit violent criminal acts, traffic drugs or people, etc., and they happened to currently be doing more enforcement because they were allocated their budget.

Now, about a month later, I am seeing that ICE has seemed to step up enforcement in South Carolina. It appears they are targeting individuals who are not as high priority as those mentioned above. For example, I recently had a call from the family of an individual who failed to appear for a traffic ticket in court, and had an outstanding warrant. ICE picked the individual up, detained him, and he is now on his way to court in Atlanta, hoping that there might be some way I can prevent him from being deported.

I don't know how far down the priority list ICE is going in South Carolina. I am basing my conclusion on the only data I have - phone calls to my office from relatives of people who are detained and need help.

Whether you are in South Carolina or not, my suggestion to any person who may have some reason to fear a visit from ICE - visa overstay, outstanding warrant, criminal arrest, entering the country illegally, etc.:

Contact an immigration attorney for advice on your situation!

There might be some way to help you. For the price of an in-depth consultation, where your whole situation is reviewed, you might get some good advice, or your problem can be resolved so you no longer have to fear a visit from ICE. It may end up being worth it, because you'll spend a lot more money hiring an attorney to represent you if you're placed in a removal proceeding.

One thing I hope you will see about our website is that we don't overwhelm you with information that may or may not be useful to you. Our goal is to simplify immigration for you, so you will get the best, and most relevant information for your situation when you call and speak to me or my team.

This section of our website is aimed to provide some commentary and explanation of current events, especially in today's climate where President Trump's travel bans and other immigration policies are regular headlines in the media.

I hope to use this page to inform you of the changing landscape of immigration, and help you understand what is happening. Nothing about immigration policy is simple, but I will do my best to make it comprehensible.

Please check back regularly to see news and updates. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter to be notified when a new article is posted.

As always, if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to me and my team.